Portable computing devices, such as smartphones, music and video players, and others have become ubiquitous. The features and capabilities of these players have increased as well. As a result, the numbers and types of accessory devices that these players may communicate with have grown at a remarkable rate.
At the same time, it may be desirable to have docking stations that may be used to physically support these portable computing devices. The docking stations may support portable computing devices in a substantially upright position. This may make it easy for a user to insert and remove a portable computing device from a docking station and may be a safer position for the portable computing device, as compared to simply lying on a desktop or other surface where it may be more vulnerable to accidental damage.
It may also be desirable that the docking station provide a connection between a portable computing device and a computer or other accessory device. Such a connection may allow data to be transferred between the portable computing device and the computer. This data may include various media, such as music, videos, photographs, and other data. Data may be transferred from the portable computing device to the computer or from the computer to the portable computing device. Software or firmware, or software or firmware updates may be transferred between the portable computing device and the computer as well.
It may also be useful if the docking stations are able to receive power from a charger or other accessory and provide the power to charge batteries in the portable computing devices. In still other situations, it may be desirable to provide power from a portable computing device to an accessory. Also, docking stations themselves may include circuitry that may be powered from a portable computing device, accessory, or other source.
Thus, what is needed are portable computing device docking stations that may facilitate the sharing or transfer of power among a portable computing device, a docking station, and one or more accessories.